Gifts for 2 year old

[Rosebel]

Struggling with what to buy my 2 year old (will be 2 1/2 by Christmas). He's not walking yet and he doesn't really seem overly engaged in toys.
He'll only play if someone plays with him so I don't know what to buy. He loves being outside but garden is uneven and a bit small for anything like a trampoline or swing set.
What are others buying their 2 year old? Also happy to hear what people are buying their 14 and 16 year old DDs as mine just shrug and say "don't know" when I ask. 16 year old will probably give me a lost Christmas Eve.


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[Fivemoreminutes1]

If you can, wait until much nearer the time. 5 months is quite long in the life of a toddler and there’s a chance he might change a fair bit by then and develop particular interests. Will he have started nursery by then? If so, ask his key worker what he enjoys doing and build on that.
I think Duplo is always brilliant for a 2yo, but you might find out he prefers role plays in which case a toy kitchen would be a good shout.

[Caspianberg]

For a small garden, my two year old love his mud kitchen and a small sandpit. He’s played with them all summer, and was still out in his winter snow clothes digging in sand and using the mud kitchen on and off all winter.

indoors - magformers

[FilthyforFirth]

DS will be 2 in November. For his bday we have got him a micro mino scooter. Smyths have 15% off atm so it was £56. For Christmas we have got him a hot wheels garage as he is really into cars.

My mum has got him a little play kitchen, again in the sale from John Lewis.

He loves duplo, so I think thats another good shout. Hope that helps!

[Cadot]

Mine likes toy food, the kind that you can cut and stack.

Also a little doctor's kit.

Both of these have the advantage that I can "play" with her whilst lying on the couch, she brings me plates of food or gives me injections etc!

[grey12]

Our 2 year old gift tends to be a baby with pushchair. Little pushchairs are AMAZING toys!!! Kids love them

Our baby of choice is the "lots to love"

[Mumnetter111]

Dont bother getting present for 2DC they won’t remember it anyway.
DD14 concert ticket, clothes voucher?
DD16 money? Spa weekend for you both?

[1stTimeMama]

@Mumnetter111

Dont bother getting present for 2DC they won’t remember it anyway.
DD14 concert ticket, clothes voucher?
DD16 money? Spa weekend for you both?

As if she's not going to get her 2.5yr old a Christmas present!

Mine enjoys her Scuttlebug and has a balance bike, but has been walking for a long while now. He could be walking by Christmas though, so might be an option. Do you have indoor space? Maybe one of the small toddler trampolines?
Books and early puzzles, and one of my boys loved his cleaning trolley around that age too!

[Mumnetter111]

@1stTimeMama why bother when they won’t remember it at 2. Could save the money and spend it on something big when they’re 3 and understand more. But i guess if you have loads of disposable income why not go ahead buy them an iPhone 13 to watch peeps pig on.

[Thoughtsarrivelikebutterflies5]

What about some kind of suitable bike or trike?
Duplo is always a good one!

[grey12]

@Mumnetter111

@1stTimeMama why bother when they won’t remember it at 2. Could save the money and spend it on something big when they’re 3 and understand more. But i guess if you have loads of disposable income why not go ahead buy them an iPhone 13 to watch peeps pig on.

With that in mind you'd keep a child locked in the house until 3yo 🤷🏻‍♀️

But it's true you don't need to give a lot of toys or to spend big money at all. They would be radiant to receive a £1 toy! Until 5 yo I only gave my kids one toy that I thought it would be good for their development. Like a baby, a balance bike...

[LittleRedYoshi]

All 3 of mine have loved Magnatiles from the age of 2 - by far the most played-with toy at that age for all of them.

[Mumnetter111]

@grey12

With that in mind you'd keep a child locked in the house until 3yo 🤷🏻‍♀️

But it's true you don't need to give a lot of toys or to spend big money at all. They would be radiant to receive a £1 toy! Until 5 yo I only gave my kids one toy that I thought it would be good for their development. Like a baby, a balance bike...

Well obviously not. It’s still important for kids to have outdoor stimulation and toys for learning development. But they don’t understand the concept of presents at 2. By 3 they’re a lot more understanding.

[AliceTheCamelHasFiveHumps]

Our 2y7m has a trampoline 😬 a 6ft one that she bloody loves....
Other stuff she loves;

Magna tiles
Wood railway
Duplo
Puzzles
Counting bears
Books
Scooter
Balance bike
Tent
Baby buggy (umbrella stroller)
Plastic animals and dinosaurs
Electronic drawing pad
Puppets
Cooking stuff.

[theclangersarecoming]

A wooden train set was our great hit at Christmas when DD was two! And I swear it got played with every day for the next three years. You just can’t go wrong. It’s a present they really grow into.

John Lewis and IKEA both have good quality sets that make a great “big present” and are also compatible with the more expensive Brio sets.

[00100001]

@Mumnetter111

@1stTimeMama why bother when they won’t remember it at 2. Could save the money and spend it on something big when they’re 3 and understand more. But i guess if you have loads of disposable income why not go ahead buy them an iPhone 13 to watch peeps pig on.

Why bother taking them anywhere? Pointless going to the park, the beach, the lakes, the farm, the zoo, on holiday, out for meals, birthday parties, fun fair...

They won't remember it...

[theclangersarecoming]

@Mumnetter111

Well obviously not. It’s still important for kids to have outdoor stimulation and toys for learning development. But they don’t understand the concept of presents at 2. By 3 they’re a lot more understanding.

Haha — my DD definitely understood the concept of presents at 2! (In fact also at 1 — we have some excellent photos of her VERY unimpressed face on finding some bibs in her first stocking.) 😂

[Dreamwhisper]

My small boy is 2.5 and will be nearly 3 at Christmas - his main present will be a Thomas the Tank Engine toy which is a large Thomas that opens up into a small train track with a train.

He will be 6 months older than yours but I also know he would like it right now

It seemed a good match because it's a nice big train for playing with by itself, but he will also enjoy the novelty of being able to set up and carry round the small train set, and all mine at that age have enjoyed sorting things, so he will enjoy piling all the little train tracks back in too!

[Cadot]

2.5 year olds definitely understand the idea of a present! They're talking and comprehending pretty well by then!

[Rosebel]

Thanks for the suggestions. He does like Duplo so that might be a idea. He likes babies too but has quite a few that his sisters used to play with. He has a trike as well, although he's not really used that yet. I like the idea of a special cuddly toy (at the moment his favourite comforter is a t towel though).

[17caterpillars1mouse]

My go to list for 2 year olds is either Duplo (I enjoy playing this with them), Playmobil 123 or brio.

Toy kitchen and accessories are also played with most days still in our house at now 6 and nearly 4 and dd1 got it at 18 months.

She also got an easel at 2 with its also very loved. We have the step 2 one

[Minesril]

My first loved his brio (not all brio, as a pp said you can buy cheaper brands which are compatible) from around 18 months until he was about four. Then he discovered lego which is still played with at eight!

My current two year old has just discovered his brother's old brio, it's lovely watching him push the trains around that DS1 used to love! He also has a doll who he likes to feed/change its nappy, and play kitchen (also once belonging to his brother...). His ice cream cart gets a fair bit of attention, as do his blocks/puzzles/busy board. Also has one of those rainbows which he likes to build over himself.

[grey12]

Train set we have the BigJigs rail dinossaur train set. It's very cool!!!!

We got the Le Toy Van set of London emergency vehicles. It's great for the kids to identify the ambulance/fire engine/police/bus.... and also it fits in the train tracks!!!! 😃

[CakeCrumbs44]

Melissa and Doug Ice Cream Set - I've yet to meet a toddler who didn't love it.

amzn.eu/d/iUK7h5g?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

It's £37 at Amazon at the moment, which is about £5 below RRP, but I got one for about £25 last year (bought in November), so might be worth holding out until nearer Christmas.

[CakeCrumbs44]

Another bonus of the ice cream shop is you get to join in playing by sitting on the sofa and ordering ice creams and then they bring them to you 🤣 sadly they're wooden